"Amazing Kids"

Monday night the Utah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra presented Tunes to Tap to. It was held at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo. The place was packed. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. There were three groups that performed. The Utah Valley String Sinfonia, the Utah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra. This is the group that Keagan plays with, and the Utah Valley Youth Philharmonia Orchestra. I was amazed at how good these kids sounded. It was great!! You know that these kids are going somewhere. If they are this disciplined and can play this good now, think of what they can do in the future!!!

Keagan and Mr. David Beck her conductor. This guy got down to Keagan's level for the photo he is 6 ft 4+. He is a TALL guy and it was so fun to watch him conduct, he literally danced to the music as he lead the group. I think I embarrassed Keagan because Mr. Beck was talking to people after the performance and I had her wait to get the photo. I'm sure she'll be glad in years to come:-)

We we're close enough to get pictures of Keagan with the whole group but I had to get one of Keagan on stage. This little girl has so much confidence and is so talented, I know she is going to do well if she keeps it up. Bravo Keagan, Bravo.

Jean's Golden Girls

I was looking on utube today and found my dance group! It was Feb 2, 2008 at the Utah State vs Nevada game, was I there? Yes, but I can't really point me out because of the way the camera was scanning and I'm not on the front row. I was on the outer right hand side, probably the third row back. I just wanted to give you an idea of what fun we have and how the crowd loves us:-)

Ashlyn's Christmas Candy

As I mentioned earlier Ashlyn has started taking orders for her Christmas Candy and it looks like she will be as busy as every. Here are some photos of her NEW Christmas Gift Ideas.
It's hard to see how yummy this looks all wrapped up so heres another photo without the wrapping, it also show how cute the plate is.

Doesn't that just make your mouth water!!!! I kid you not, her cashew turtles are to die for!!! And they are so addicting.

And try this cute little Christmas mug full of peanut brittle or toffee. What a great gift and a great price too.

Or, how about a bucket of candy! We took samples and photos and order blanks around to different business' today. I'm sure she is going to be sooooo busy. As if she wasn't busy enough as it is.

The Empty Nesters have a full house:-)

As I said in an earlier blog we have Ash, Dave and our three grand children living with us while they are looking for a new home. It has been quite an adjustment for us empty nester's of 14 + years. Before they came to live with us we rattled around in our quite house, watching our usual TV programs, eatting on TV trays infront of the TV, leading a pretty boring lifestyle. Ashlyn, Dave and kids on the other hand live a pretty exciting none stop life. Ashlyn gets up in the morning, gets the kids up and ready for school, prepares their lunch's, takes Keagan to school about 7:15 then she gets home just in time to work on the second round. That is to make sure Jake and Lily are through with breakfast, hair combed, teeth brushed, homework in hand and off they go to be dropped off at their school. She comes home, gets herself ready and, Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off to work she goes. She gets off just in time to stop by Keag's school and pick her up, then pick up Jake and Lily Beans. Once she gets home there is no rest for the weary because it's time to do home work and get Lily and Keagan to practice their violin. After an hour or so she's off to take Keagan to her symphony orchestra practice. And on other days she take Lily and Keagan to violin lessons and Jake to soccer practice, then comes home to start making her Christmas Candy. Feeeeew!!! I'm tired just telling you about it. We play Nertz, a card game that Ashlyn is so competitive at, she is brutal:-) Keagan is getting really great at also, and Nana is just trying to remember and keep up with the two of them, and sometimes Papa. Jake is also learning how to play. We also play scrabble, Les, Keagan, Dave and I. I've been to soccer games, night of excellence, and trips to school to drop off forgotten items. I had forgotten what it was like when my kids were young and the minute I got home or they came home they were so excited to tell me about their day, it brings back so many wonderful memories. And, my piano that just sat in the living room and looked pretty has never sounded so good. I get to hear the most beautiful music everyday because not only does Keagan play the violin but she plays the piano too. Our home is once again filled with laughter and music and yes sometimes yelling and fighting as well but it's one of the perks of living with your grand children, and Ashlyn and I have gone shopping and had lunch together and really enjoyed this time.

As the previous photos show we spent the last few saturdays in the yard raking leaves together and it's been fun spending time and getting to know Dave better. Lily brings back the wonder and excitement of being a child again. She is soooo artistical, while we were raking leaves she would grab a leaf and say, "look Nana this is the most beautiful leaf!!!" or, "look Nana aren't these leaves AMAZING!!!!" I will never look at an Autumn leaf the same way ever again. She has shown me that there are so many different and unique ones. We are making leaf art, we are drying these most AMAZING leaves and we are going to put them on some pretty paper and frame them for Lily's new bedroom. I will have to share them with you when they are completed. I enjoy Jake and the new friends he has made. Jake is a great young man who loves video games and sports.

When the kids were little I loved to listen to their music and I think they enjoyed listening to ours. I take Keagan to school on days that Ashlyn is running late and we always listen to the radio. Some of Keagans favorite music has become mine. It's the kind of songs that can put a smile on your face and put you in a great mood for the rest of the day. I have put two of them on the blog to share them with you. Hope it puts a smile on your face and makes your day as well.

Autumn Time

A while back I went to Jake and Lily's school to drop something off for Lily. As I was walking down the hall I noticed Lily's cute picture with something she had written about Autumn time. I wish I could write what Lily had written word for word because it was so cute. She said she loved Autumn time because of the beautiful leaves, with all their brilliant colors but most of all she loved raking the leaves into big piles and then jumping into them. Last Saturday Dave, Ash, and the kids were out in the yard raking leaves. Little by little each one of the kids slipped away until it ended up being just Dave, Ash, and myself. We cleaned out all the flower beds and then loaded all the dead flowers and leaves in the back of Les's truck to go to the green waste. Just as we were loading the last load of leaves Lily came running out and she started to cry. She said, "I wanted to jump in the leaves." So we left the last little bit of leaves for her to run and jump in. She also jumped in the back of the truck full of leaves. It really doesn't take much to make kids happy does it? :-) It would be wise to take a lesson from them. The best things in life really are free.

Lily is our Autumn leave girl!!!!

Guess who's a TEENAGER!

October 16th Keagan became a TEENAGER, totally!! And yes, that is mascara she has on her eyes. Dave said, "over night her brain turned to mush." It seems like only yesterday I was at the hospital with Ash and Dave waiting for her arrival. She is a fun teenager!! She gets great grades (almost) a straight A student. She plays the piano, and the violin, and was accepted into the Utah Valley Youth Symphony. In February she will be going on tour with them. She and I went to lunch the day before her birthday and picked out her birthday gift. It was lots of fun, probably more so for me then it was for her. Happy Birthday Keags!